Getting over the end of summer break isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard. National Deaf Center has some exciting new resources guaranteed to give you some Back to School spirit!
Online Game for Deaf Youth
Have you played Deafverse—our online game for deaf youth—yet? Deafverse is the first-ever American Sign Language (ASL) accessible online game for deaf teenagers featuring epic worldbuilding and choose-your-own adventure style gameplay that teaches players about self-advocacy and career readiness. Created by NDC’s own deaf game developers, Deafverse has over 4,000 players in classrooms all across America!
Enter the Deafverse
World One: Duel of the Bots focuses on strengthening self-determination skills by guiding players through scenarios that are applicable to deaf teenagers’ lives right now. Players are asked to advocate for themselves with friends and interpreters, choose accommodations that may be a good fit for them, learn more about accessible emergency alerts, and more!
World Two: Revenge of the Deep focuses on workplace readiness skills by guiding players through the job search process. Players are asked to choose a job to apply for, identify marketable skills, prepare a resume, advocate for accommodations during the interview and on the job, and more!
New Features
New features have been added to give educators and players a better playing experience, including: a new account for teachers to better manage their classes in the game and improvements to the overall user experience. Additionally, players and teachers can access key learning modules directly from our website. These modules include key takeaways and clips from the game which can also be accessed without an account! Check out this sample from World Two on disclosure in the workplace.
Get Free Resources in the Mail
If you like Deafverse, or are interested in bringing it into your curriculum, the NDC team has designed strategy guides for students and teachers to support game play in the classroom. Activities and questions in the strategy guides help extend learning and keep students engaged both inside and outside the game. These guides and additional resources are available on our Resources page to download for free anytime.
Each kit will include a player or teacher strategy guide, plan your future guides, testing and accommodations guides for students, and a few of our epic Deafverse stickers. Kits will be packed and shipped out by September 29th. If you require materials sooner or have questions, please contact [email protected] for support.
Check out these Additional Resources
- Student Resource Portal
- Navigating vocational rehabilitation or accommodations requests can be tricky. Get all the resources you need to self-advocate on and off campus here.
- Access and Accommodations
- Accessibility is more than just accommodating individual classroom needs. Learn everything you need to know from legal requirements to off-campus support here.
- Online Learning
- NDC provides professional development and learning opportunities for everyone working with deaf students. Check out our free online modules which cover topics ranging from campus accessibility to attitudes and biases towards deaf people.
